dittany

American  

[dit-n-ee] / ˈdɪt n i /

noun

• dittanies
  plural

1. a Cretan plant, Origanum dictamnus, of the mint family, having spikes of purple flowers and formerly believed to have medicinal qualities.

2. Also called stone mint. a North American plant, Cunila origanoides, of the mint family, bearing clusters of purplish flowers.

3. gas plant.

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dittany British  

/ ˈdɪtənɪ /

noun

1. an aromatic Cretan plant, Origanum dictamnus , with pink drooping flowers: formerly credited with great medicinal properties: family Lamiaceae (labiates)

2. Also called: stone mint. a North American labiate plant, Cunila origanoides, with clusters of purplish flowers

3. another name for gas plant

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dittanies
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of dittany

1350–1400; Middle English ditane, detany < Old French dita ( i ) n < Latin dictamnus, dictamnum < Greek díktamnon, perhaps akin to Díktē, a mountain in Crete where the herb abounded

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dittany

“You need the hospital wing. There may be a certain amount of scarring, but if you take dittany immediately we might avoid even that...Come...”

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling

She was supposed to drink dittany tea sweetened with molasses, but it tasted too horrible.

From "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson

They were wincing as they dabbed essence of dittany onto their many injuries.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

But when Venus saw how grievously her son was troubled, she brought from Ida, which is a mountain of Crete, the herb dittany.

From The Children's Hour, Volume 3 (of 10) by Various

Your majesty will here find the genuine dittany, which grows in my country.

From Voltaire's Romances, Complete in One Volume by

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